Buzzards Bay, Mass. --  Massachusetts Maritime freshman defensive back Stefan Gustafson has been named as the 2010 New England Football Conference Bogan Division Defensive Rookie of the Year in a vote of the league’s coaches and is one of five Buccaneers to earn a spot on this year’s conference all-division squad.

A native of Plymouth, Mass. and a graduate of Plymouth South High School, Gustafson led Head Coach Jeremy Cameron’s squad with four interceptions in his inaugural campaign, including a pick that helped set up a touchdown in Massachusetts Maritime’s 23-16 victory over Coast Guard on September 25^th.  Gustafson added a pair of pass break-ups and a forced fumble while ranking eighth on the team in total tackles with 34 combined stops (27 solo), and he also led the squad in kickoff return yardage, averaging 23.3 yards per return in 16 attempts this fall. 

Gustafson becomes the second straight Buccaneer to earn a major Rookie of the Year accolade in the New England Football Conference, as sophomore wide receiver Jonathan Emond (Green Harbor, Mass./Marshfield) was tabbed as the 2009 Bogan Division Offensive Rookie of the Year.

Joining Gustafson on the second team all-Bogan Division defensive squad was junior co-captain Mike Bois (Lakeville, Mass./Apponequet), who led Massachusetts Maritime in total tackles with 81, including 56 solo stops and nine tackles for losses totaling 32 yards.  Bois, who averaged over 10 tackles per game and missed the final two contests of the season due to injury, registered a career-high 16 total stops in a 34-7 victory over Fitchburg State on October 16^th and added three forced fumbles and a pair of pass break-ups on the year.

Three Buccaneers earned second team all-Bogan Division honors on the offensive side of the ball, led by junior running back Matt White (Westwood, Mass./Westwood), who rushed for a team-best 762 yards and amassed 948 all-purpose yards in nine contests while scoring a team-high 13 touchdowns, including 11 on the ground.  White collected three scores each in a 38-17 win at MIT on September 18^th and again in a 28-27 Admiral’s Cup setback at Maine Maritime on October 23^rd, and he was named as the Lee Harrington Most Valuable Player of the 32^nd Annual Cranberry Bowl Presented By Ocean Spray with a career-high 151 rushing yards in a 23-7 victory over Bridgewater State.

Seniors Colin Giles (Brentwood, N.H./St. John’s Prep) and Samuel Jackson (Wrentham, Mass./King Philip) joined White on the second team at the offensive guard and tackle spots, respectively.  Giles and Jackson anchored a veteran Massachusetts Maritime line this fall that 186 rushing yards and 316 yards of total offensive per game, as the Buccaneers averaged 32 minutes of possession time per contest.

Cameron’s crew posted its highest victory total in 10 years with a 5-5 slate in 2010, including a 4-3 mark in NEFC Bogan Division action, as Massachusetts Maritime posted its first .500 campaign since 2000.  The Buccaneers also defeated Coast Guard for the first time in 11 years and capped the season with their first Cranberry Bowl triumph over Bridgewater State since 1996.